I have used a Graver Max for 18 years now and consider it my most
indispensible tool. I use it for quickly putting down bezels and
flush mounting with the hammer handpiece and I use the multipurpose
hand piece for bright cutting and hand engraving. I prefer to push
the beads over without the help of the machine, it produces too much
vibration to keep small melle in place while you get the beads down
in place. It also has a turbo rotary hand piece that turns at 50,000
rpms but has very little torq. With a small round bur you can do a
very effortless job of carving a stone seat. Just don't apply much
pressure as this just stops the bur. With a light touch and a sharp
tool the metal just disappears under it.

I am not affiliated with GRS in any way I am just a very big fan of
all the GRS tools including the engraving block and the benchmate.
I did not buy their microscope, I found the same kind of equipment
for sale on Ebay 1/4 the price.

Thanks to both of you, David L. Huffman and Scott Isaacs for thisinfo on pneumatic stone setting. The advice on sharpening is veryuseful. The idea of a Chicago Tool handpiece never entered my mind! We are so used to only going to the general jewelry suppliers whensometimes another tool will do the job.

I am not certain of the differences at the bench of the Max andMeister versions, if any. Certainly, we do not have the room for aloud compressor. We do have a fairly quiet one used for sandblastingand it might do if a compressor-less set up is selected.

The problem for me is human: I am very comfortable with thetechniques of bright cut and similar setting with gravers, hammersetting by hand, etc. The problem is years of wear on these wristsand the tendons. The effects show on the left wrist and the right hasbeen through Carpal Tunnel surgery. This is EASE of work balancedwith quality bringing me to the pneumatic tools

One question was proposed by a coworker: Does the item being workedon need to be locked in a very rigid position, like in the GRSdevices or can it be hand held in a ring clamp? The personsuggested the item must be very rigid for the pneumatics to workwith out problems. I have no clue on this!

Again, I really appreciate the info. These wrists mandate lookinginto power assisted work.

Does the item being worked on need to be locked in a very rigid
position, like in the GRS devices or can it be hand held in a ring
clamp? The person suggested the item must be very rigid for the
pneumatics to work with out problems.

I'd suggest that the more rigid the piece being worked on can behelp the better, regardless of whether it's being manipulated bymachine or by hand.

If the piece isn't rigid, any movement reduces the effectiveness atthe point of contact between the tool & the work. The piece needs tobe stationary for the tool to make an effective mark. Any movementof the piece is just lost motion. Maybe all that lost motioncontributes to the wear & tear on the wrists, fingers & arms thatcauses our aches & pains.

BINGO! "lost motion" you just hit the nail on the head, my ownreciprocating hammer does not work too well on or in the softleather edged ring clamp. But it does do wonders if the ring issecured on the metal ring mandrel....you are never too "darn" old toolearn..Gerry!...:>)

With back to back engraving workshops I haven't had time to responduntil now...

Pneumatic tools, whether they be GRS or Lindsay's are all excellentchoices for anyone who uses gravers on a daily basis. When Istarted engraving in 1969, there were no such tools. Later when theGraverMeister first came out (I own #273) I purchased one - but thehandpieces in those days were very awkward. There was also acontroversy amongst hand engravers back then - as to whether engraving with these new machines was to be considered "real" handengraving. During the first 5 years that I had the machine I rarelyused it, and then only to stipple backgrounds. Since the handpieceback then was 7" long, it was far from "ergonomic" and no one evenconsidered them for stone setting. Modern day GRS products have beenmuch improved - especially recently.

The Lindsay tools have been on the market for a little over 4 yearsnow. Invented and built by Steve Lindsay, who has made his livingengraving, they worked perfectly for engraving and stone settingfrom the very beginning. His tools are capable of up to 30,000impacts per minute, so even under a microscope you will never see"chatter" marks. He now has 4 models to choose from. The newestone, the "Bronze Omega" has just been released. We used the firstone in a Basic Engraving workshop last week. All of the studentswere quite impressed. It's an economy model of his standard tools,and does not have the adjustable stroke mechanism that is includedon the other models. However, for the beginning engraver orstonesetter the price is right - around $500 - and it works justfine. His "Chasing" and "Classic" models are in the same pricerange as the GRS product. His best model, which has all of thecontrols on the tool itself, was released a few months back. This"Palm Control" model will cost closer to $3,000, and uses no footpedal. It responds to pressure on the handle. In the last twomonths it has become my favorite tool on the bench.

The original question as I recall was as to whether these pneumatictools would help prevent injury. From my own personal experience of30+ years - the answer is a resounding YES!

After the first 10 years of engraving and stone setting with handgravers and sheer force, I had my first carpal tunnel surgery. Overthe years, because it took me a long time to accept the use ofpneumatic tools exclusively, I have had a total of 4 carpal tunnelsurgeries. 3 on my right hand, 'cause I'm right handed, and one onthe left, 'cause that hand is shoving the engraving block aroundall day. I've also had 2 elbow release surgeries, and shouldersurgery... I believe that had these tools existed in their modernday form - none of this would have been necessary.

The other advantages of pneumatic tools include a 70% cut in thelearning curve, much faster/repeatable results, less bloodshed, andless time wasted learning new cuss words... ALL graver blankscan be adapted to fit either Lindsay or GRS handpieces, but I'vecome to prefer starting with the square blanks that need no backend grinding, just shape and sharpen, slip 'em in and go.

YOU WILL NOT, however instantly "become" an engraver or stonesetterby simply purchasing one of these modern day marvels! You stillhave to acquire the SKILLS needed to set stones or engrave. Booksand videos have their uses (I know this because I have 18overflowing bookshelves and over 50 videos:) but there is nothingas good as taking live instruction. You need to learn the sounds,and feel what happens in your hand when you make a perfect cut. Andyou need that instructor standing over your shoulder to tell youthat you are trying to do it upside down....